Legal solutions business Consilio has acquired two business units of Special Counsel from Adecco Group. The deal further strengthens Consilio's cyber incident response and eDiscovery managed services capabilities.
This is technology M&A deal number 567 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Consilio Acquisitions: Deeper Details
The business units are named D4 and EQ and represent the legal consulting and eDiscovery business units of Special Counsel. Special Counsel acquired D4 in October of 2016 in order to grow its own eDiscovery managed services, information governance, computer forensics and deposition solutions offerings.
Under the transaction, Adecco Group will retain the legal staffing and legal permanent placement units of Special Counsel, which it will transfer to LHH Professional Recruitment, the company said.
Consilio provides eDiscovery, document review, risk management and legal consulting services. This acquisition will expand the company’s expertise surrounding document review, legal process outsourcing and cybersecurity incident response, the buyer said.
The deal also grows its U.S. and international data operations and bolsters its level of expertise, according to Consilio.
Consilio Acquisitions: Executive Perspectives
Andy Macdonald, CEO, Consilio, commented:
“Client demands, under increasing caseloads and data volumes, are calling for greater efficiency and scale, flexibility, and ability for legal service providers to deliver differentiated value through enterprise solution offerings. This is a significant step for Consilio and Special Counsel’s legal solutions business, to bring together our respective strengths to provide additional opportunities for our multinational client base and to cultivate the next evolution of growth for our team.”
Laurie Chamberlin, head of professional recruitment and solutions North America at the Adecco Group, said:
“The combination of Consilio and Special Counsel’s legal solutions business was truly complementary, with both organizations being highly regarded for the long-standing client relationships, excellent service experience, and deep market expertise. This divestment is in line with our global Talent Solutions transformation and enables us to amplify our U.S. legal recruitment practice, while the legal solutions business unlocks new growth potential and access to Consilio’s complete suite of solutions, expanded ability to serve cross-border matters, and the ability to scale secure technology solutions that address rapidly evolving client challenges.”
Multiple companies advised on the deal. For instance:
- Barclays acted as exclusive financial advisor and Smith, Gambrell & Russell acted as legal advisor to the Adecco Group.
- Truist Securities acted as financial advisor and Debevoise & Plimpton acted as legal advisor to Consilio.
